HARDWICK — Hardwick residents, voting by Australian ballot at the Hardwick Elementary School on Town Meeting Day, said they had a compulsion to vote for a variety of reasons: fulfilling their civic duty, fighting tax increases, and, for some, avoiding ghosts.
“I’m voting because if I didn’t, my father would roll right out of his grave and beat me,” said Barbara Jenne, the housing manager for Good Samaritan Haven. “More seriously, your vote is your voice. You can’t complain if you’re not a part of the conversation.”
Hardwick voters Helm and Nancy Nottermann and their daughter-in-law and son Kelly and Ben Nottermann, were among many that attended the Hardwick Town Meeting at Hardwick Elementary School, March 5. In front at right is Chelsea Edgar, a freelance journalist from Burlington.
Orise Ainsworth, who has served as the Hardwick Town Meeting moderator for almost 20 years, said that this year’s town meeting was cordial, and that those who held opposing viewpoints simply agreed to disagree.
The school budget turned a lot of heads, as it did throughout Vermont. Arthur Williams, a retired 81-year-old, was disgruntled. “Oh yeah, I don’t think they’re looking out for us at all. Period,” he said “I don’t think they’re trying to save us any money to do anything. I think we’re not getting our money’s worth. I think the school can do much better with their spending; there’s a lot of wasted funds.”
Melinda Moore, 38, said that she came out to vote for the continued operation of Lakeview Elementary School, even though her children do not attend the school.
The upcoming 2024 Presidential Election was also a heavy motivator for voters. “I feel it’s important to vote Democratic,” said Hardwick resident Debby Howard, 58. “That’s really what brought me out. This is an especially good year to vote.”
Lawrence Hamel of East Hardwick, who is Hardwick’s town service officer, animal control officer and constable, makes a statement during town meeting held at Hardwick Elementary School March 5.
Retired couple Lester and Sheila Fuller said that they came to the polls because they feel that it’s getting more expensive to live in Vermont and that the school budget was part of that burden.
Referring to their friends in other states, Sheila said, “We have people we know that when they retire, they don’t pay for a school,” Sheila said. “We do. We always have.”
The Fullers said that without their retirement fund, living in Vermont would not be fiscally viable on social security alone. “Vermont likes to tax everything, and they raise it every year on everything,” Sheila said. “It’s an expensive state to live in.”
Lester, a veteran, said that he feels it’s getting harder on seniors in Vermont. Despite being out of military service for almost fifty years, he is only just receiving benefits. “For us, we’re on a fixed income, and every year things keep going up and up and up and up,” he said.
Ainsworth said she fears that Hardwick will someday completely revert to the Australian ballot method. The town temporarily did so during the Covid-19 pandemic. She felt the sense of community was lost. This year, she said there was a smaller crowd than normal.
“Town Meeting has to continue in Vermont,” she said. “We want local control.”
Noah Diedrich and Katie Stephan reported this story on assignment from The Hardwick Gazette. The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost.
